Strain the wort on 1st fermentation ??

[ShootersBrewCrew]

E are trying see if we should simply dump the wort into the carboy or strain it through the funnel?

 

[PRE66_6TART]

You can strain it or not. The hop gunk won't hurt anything and will settle out during fermentation. I like to strain mine though. Keeps the amount of trub down and keeps my yeast cake cleaner for re-use. It has the added bonus of aerating your wort too. I have a funnel with a mesh strainer that I use but it does clog up a few times, so I have to keep cleaning it out and resanitizing, still seems easier than whirlpooling though.

 

[BigFloyd]

If you're taking about moving wort from kettle to primary fermenter, then you can strain, splash, or whip the stuffin out of it. Extra O2 added before fermentation helps.

Just be sure to sanitize the strainer very well. Some of them have lots of nooks and crannies to hide nasties that will corrupt your beer.

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

I have been sanitizing everything as I go. Making sure to not forget!

Thank you for the insight. Just started brewing and wondered if it matters to strain it since ill siphon to the second fermenter in 10days anyhow

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

Yeah that seemed to be an issue on our first batch because we didn't use reslin bags for the hops.

Second batch we did just today we used the reslin bags which cut down on the soupy looking hops and allowed for a smoother wort.

 

[3PegBrew]

If you are going via funnel, here's a neat idea, I use this on my pick up tube of my boil pot but I'd assume it can be used this way:

Goto the hardware store and buy an SS lint filter and an SS hose clamp that is big enough for your funnel.

Attach the filter to your funnel, tighten it on with an SS clamp, sanitize and funnel away!

If you choose to go with that, why not try something else out? Take a walk on the wild side and stick with a primary with no secondary :rockin:

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

What does it matter doing a second fermentation? Why would i only do a single fermentation process?

 

[3PegBrew]

I wasn't saying you "have" to just stick to your primary, only suggesting you try it. I just know that when I started brewing, I always made it a habit to transfer to another container after 7-10 days. I just let the awesome goodness sit in my Carboy or bucket until I'm ready to bottle it. The yeast is happy and cleans up regardless of transferring. Not to mention you lessen the chances of contamination or oxidizing. Also, it really shouldn't be called Secondary Fermentation. You aren't really fermenting. All you are doing is allowing the beer to clear more because you siphoned off of the original yeast cake. Once you take it off that cake, fermentation is pretty much done done. Now, if you felt the need to add something to your secondary, like extra sugars to be eaten up, then you can call it a secondary "fermenter."
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/second-fermentation-timing-207776/

 

[PRE66_6TART]

What does it matter doing a second fermentation? Why would i only do a single fermentation process?

Everything that happens in the secondary will also happen in the primary. The only reason to move it to the secondary is to separate it from the yeast which was once widely believed to cause off flavors. We now know that your beer can stay on the yeast for a long time (months) without those off flavors occurring so you're really not accomplishing anything with the secondary except exposing it to more risk.

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

Well i am dry hopping it in the transfer carboy.

Simply following a recipe and any feedback is helpful!

 

[3PegBrew]

It's all good man! Dance to a tune you like and brew how you want. That's the beauty of the hobby. The beauty of these forums is getting new ideas and feedback on your techniques

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

Here is my conundrum...

I ended up brewing two batches and decided that i will simply buy 2 more carboys to be able to have the transfer carboys. If you all think that im good on one carboy and do not need to transfer then I'm not going to and then just brew more.

 

[madkap_78]

If you want to reuse your yeast, or plan on brewing a high gravity beer its good to have a secondary on hand for aging or for adding additions. Other wise you can just keep your beer in the primary till its done and it will be fine. In my opinion you can never have too many carboys.

 

[BigFloyd]

Well i am dry hopping it in the transfer carboy.

Simply following a recipe and any feedback is helpful!

Lots of folks (including, I believe Yooper) will dry hop in the primary after fermentation has completed. If you think about it, there's no reason to not do it that way (skipping the secondary) unless you are planning to dry hop plus harvest that yeast for use in a less hoppy beer later.

By skipping the secondary, you decrease the risk of oxidation, not just from the extra transfer step, but also from air in the headspace of the secondary. I tasted a beer last Thursday brewed by one of our local guys that was otherwise fine but had the wet cardboard flavor developing. He was following what he had been told in recipe instructions to secondary for two weeks even though there was no special reason to do so. His batch unfortunately wasn't big enough to fill the carboy and it absorbed some O2.

 

[3PegBrew]

Nice! That's what I did. Once I realized I didn't have to transfer every brew prior to bottling or kegging, I had a ton of carboys left over. Extra beer is not a bad thing. You can quote me on that

 

[paperairplane]

The only time I rack to secondary now is if I need to free up a bucket. I do tend to strain my wort - but I have done batches that I dumped everything into the fermenter. Aside from having to be more careful when moving to the bottling bucket so as to not suck up goop, I have seen no difference in clarity.

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

So i can dry hop in the primary?? Then why the heck would anyone want to transfer to a secondary carboy?

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

Thanks for your insight! Can anyone explain the FG reading to me without blowing my mind?

 

[3PegBrew]

What do you want to know about your FG?

 

[SEABrewer]

Thanks for your insight! Can anyone explain the FG reading to me without blowing my mind?

What aspect of it do you need explained? How to take it? What it means?

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks for your insight! Can anyone explain the FG reading to me without blowing my mind?

The specific gravity of water is 1.000. The SG of alcohol is lower than that.

As the yeast eat the fermentable sugars, the specific gravity of the beer gets lower because the sugars are being converted to alcohol (and CO2 plus other trace chemicals). Once the yeast is done eating, the beer has reached FG (final gravity). After you confirm that by getting the same hydrometer reading a few days apart, you can bottle or keg or leave it on the yeast a little while longer if you're busy.

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

So when I get the same reading for multiple days its time to bottle. That makes sense to me. I knew that the baseline (water) was 1.00 but didnt know that when I get the same reading for multiple days meant its time to bottle

 

[SEABrewer]

So i can dry hop in the primary?? Then why the heck would anyone want to transfer to a secondary carboy?

Yes, you can dry hop in the primary.

The main time you may want to go to a secondary is if your expect to age your beer for an extended period of time prior to bottling/kegging. Transferring to secondary will allow you to get your beer off the yeast cake, which could impart some off flavors if it's left in contact with the beer for a long time. In addition, the secondary is typically smaller than the primary, which minimizes oxygen exposure to the beer that you're aging. For example, for a 5 gallon batch, you'd like to have a primary that's at least 6.5 to 7 gallons to account for krausen, etc. during primary fermentation but you'd like a secondary that's closer to 5 gallons to minimize headspace and exposure to oxygen.

But all that really only matters if you're planning on aging the beer before bottling/kegging. If you're doing medium gravity batches that you expect to bottle/keg within a month or so of brew day, you're fine just staying in primary.

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

Alright so longer ages will need a cleaner place to live in order to do their thing. I'm looking to do from wort to bottle within 4-5 weeks so i am thinking primary fermenter is fine for this style.

 

[SEABrewer]

So when I get the same reading for multiple days its time to bottle. That makes sense to me. I knew that the baseline (water) was 1.00 but didnt know that when I get the same reading for multiple days meant its time to bottle

That's generally correct. The one caveat is that if your FG reading isn't close to what it should be (based on the recipe you used), then you might have a stuck fermentation that you'd want to try to resolve before bottling.

 

[ShootersBrewCrew]

What does it mean to have a stuck fermentation and how would i fix that?

 

[davefleck]

One way to resolve a stuck fermentation is to transfer to a secondary vessel. A little kick up in temp can help if you are on the low end of the range.

The best way is to avoid it all together by making sure to use a healthy size starter and to blast the wort with O2. And again don't let it ferment too cold.

 

[SEABrewer]

What does it mean to have a stuck fermentation and how would i fix that?

It basically means that there are still fermentable sugars left in the beer but for some reason the yeast aren't consuming those sugars and converting it to alcohol. That's why you'd have a higher gravity reading than the recipe calls for (more sugar = higher gravity).

We're getting pretty far off topic from the original post, but if you search the forums for "stuck fermentation", you'll find tons of articles on the topic, including ways to address it.

Also, if you haven't already, I'd suggest you read John Palmer's "How to Brew", available online (http://www.howtobrew.com/) or in book form from Amazon, etc. It will take a lot of the mystery out of the brewing process.